Big East’s new format pays off… for everyone else

Cincinnati and Georgetown made sure their names won’t come up in any more bubble talk by losing first-round games at the Big East tournament. For the first time, the event admitted all 16 member teams, including DePaul, which had gone 0-18 in the league. The Blue Demons responded to that remarkable generosity by taking Cincinnati, one of the league’s at-large contenders (albeit a remote contender) off the board entirely, earning their first win over a conference opponent since last season. This also means that Providence’s RPI will take a hit in their next game from facing awful DePaul instead of decent Cincinnati.